March 15, 2012

TCU's Gary Patterson cautions his players on the perils of spring break

TCU coach Gary Patterson knows no matter how many times he warns his team to be smart and careful during spring break, somebody is still going to be a knucklehead. It goes with the territory when you're coaching 18-to-22 year old college students. Stuff happens on spring break.Patterson will keep his fingers crossed that none of his players come back hobbling from a spring break-related stunt gone awry. And in the wake of the recent drug scandal that led to four players being cut from the team, Patterson warned his players of the consequences after Thursday's practice at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The team doesn't resume spring drills until March 27."We drug-tested last month and we’ll probably drug-test again when they get back," Patterson said. "People do stupid things like playing beach volleyball and turning their ankle, breaking their leg jumping in three-foot pools."Patterson said many of his players plan on just going home and taking it easy."A lot of our kids can’t afford to go to one of those places," he said, referring to the usual spring break destinations like Padre Island or a beach in Florida. "So they’ll go home, get a chance to see their buddies. They need a break. They’ve been going hard since January. We’ve been pushing them pretty hard."